We’ve been told that life is a test, and watching the imaginative, yet painful chaos Writer/Director Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar) put Joaquin Phoenix through as Beau, is a never-ending test. Phoenix’s committed performance displays a consistent and constant look of shock, yelling and whining throughout this comedy/horror film. It becomes not only predictable but repetitive played out over 3 very long hours. We checked our watches at one point and couldn’t believe we were only halfway through.
But, we have to give Phoenix credit for keeping up the same level of near horror and complete mayhem displayed in his persona of his over anxious Beau character throughout. Aster throws everything at Beau, from Jewish guilt, paranoia, self-doubt, unsavory characters, to violent, disgusting situations. He’s afraid of everyone and everything. Even his therapist (Stephen McKinley Henderson) makes him nervous.
Help, if you could call it that, comes through his struggles and journey to get to his mother. Aster has put together quite a eclectic cast. Giving the film a stage-play feel, many are plucked from Broadway. Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Parker Posey, Richard Kind all play eccentric characters throughout Beau’s meandering strife. But Patti Lupone, who you finally see in all her glory, is the epitome of a Mommy Dearest who guilts her son from birth telling him lie after lie to keep him off kilter and under her thumb.
From the very beginning, we see Beau trying to get a good night’s sleep so he can get to the airport to fly to see his blessed Mama on her birthday. But he has to deal with this nightmare version of New York first. Aster paints a dystopian portrait of crazies on Beau’s block. Lane and Ryan’s banter make them scene stealers as a couple who take Beau in after an car accident treat him like a baby. Meanwhile, their son’s looney former army buddy, off his meds, is vehemently trying to chase and kill screaming Beau. It’s one horror tale after another, but it doesn’t stop there.
Beau tries to escape but lands at a theatrical encampment where the troupe is putting staging a horror rendition of Beau’s life. He has to run again, until he finally gets his Mom’s house where there’s even more trouble waiting in the form of the ultimate nightmare, Mona (Lupone). She’s a maniacal viper and you see why Beau shakes in his pants around her. This is also where he has the ultimate climactic experience with his childhood sweetheart, Elaine (Parker Posey). Aster is known for shocking, enthralling visuals and this is no exception. And just when you think Beau might have a chance to recover, there’s another 180 turn into something even more mind boggling.
Joaquin Phoenix seems drawn to incredibly dark, unique roles. There’s no doubt in our minds that he had to decompress, or seek a lot of therapy to come down from this experience. Aster’s imaginative photography, transitions, set design and his detail often adds to the creepiness of Beau’s overstuffed odyssey. Depending on your family dynamic and sense of humor, this 3-hour schlep might be just right for Mother’s Day. Or maybe not.
Lionsgate 2 Hours 59 Minutes R
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